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Jeep News and Jeep Rumors

1.

Jeep News & Rumors

•“Jeep Hair, Don’t Care” is a thing now—a lens on Snapchat allows you to look like you’re in a Wrangler with hair blowing like nutso. Now, the bad news is, as you read this, Jeep 4x4 Day is over. The good news is the lens itself will stay active through October 2017. You can scan the unique Snap code (QR code) at Jeep-brand events. Watch for the code to also sometimes appear on Jeep’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@jeep), and at blog.jeep.com.
•The final Jeep Cherokee made at the assembly complex in Toledo, Ohio, rolled down the assembly line April 6, 2017. The Cherokee’s production will move to Illinois, specifically, the Belvidere Assembly Plant. The Toledo plant will now make the next-gen Wrangler.
•First, the rumor was that GM would scoop up Jeep. The new rumor is a merger with Fiat Chrysler and Volkswagen.
•Might the upcoming Jeep pickup have an optional heavy-duty tow package? And a removable hardtop?

2.

Industry News

•Sold: A ’16 Jeep Wrangler donated by Petty’s Garage and built by Rugged Ridge and SEMA Cares, with proceeds going to Victory Junction, in honor of the memory of Adam Petty, who was Richard Petty’s grandson. It sold for $82,500.
•Another unique Jeep comes in the form of a ’17 Wrangler Unlimited collaboration between Team ARIES Pro Builder, Buck’s 4x4, and Rebuilding Generations, with parts from companies such as Warn, BDS Suspension, FOX, Yukon Gears, and others. It was built for the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab. Rebuilding Generations is a program that brings together older and younger generations to rebuild, restore, and modify a vehicle.
•Team Lucas has a returning sponsor name for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series: K&N. General Tire has also returned to continue its 11-year partnership with Team Lucas, including as Official Tire of the series. And one more: Bilstein is expanding to the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Pro 2 and Pro 4 classes, and in 2017, all sponsored racers will have Bilstein shocks, the company said. Learn more at lucasoiloffroad.com.
•Dick Cepek Fun Country All-Terrains have a 45,000-mile tread-wear warranty. If the rubber wears down to the indicators before 45,000 miles, the original purchaser of said tire will get pro-rated credit toward a new Cepek tire.
•Goodyear has retired its blimp called Spirit of Innovation. Wingfoot Two is up to bat.
•Extending its status as Official Motor Oil sponsor of the National Football League is Castrol.
•Truck Hero, maker of accessories for Jeeps, has been acquired by CCMP Capital Advisors.
•Who is celebrating 30 years in the U.S.? That would be Eibach.
•ididitinc.com has had a redo, including a new tech center.
•EFI University in Lake Havasu, Arizona, is where you can learn all about Holley electronic fuel injection. Courses range from intro to advanced. Head to efi101.com to get the scoop.

3.

Auto Graphs

•Are engineers playing Grand Theft Auto V to learn how to develop autonomous-vehicle tech?
•And who’s new to making self-driving cars? Apple got a permit from the California DMV to test on public roads there, that’s who.
•Other self-driving news? AM General and U.S. Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center are partnering on the subject and how it could benefit soldiers and military. More about the project can be found here: http://bit.ly/2oMwKAw.
•The 2 millionth Duramax 6.6L V-8 turbodiesel is reality. It has rolled off the assembly line.
•Sounds like 5G connected cars are on the way.
•Inductees into the 2017 Automotive Hall of Fame are August Fruehauf, the inventor of the semitrailer, Jack Roush of Roush Enterprises, and Edward Welburn, a former head of design for GM. Read more about their accomplishments here: http://bit.ly/2a527hh.
•There’s talk that Maserati will be moving into the old Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Michigan, which closed in 2016.

4.

“We don't like to be seen standing with hairdryers and hi-vis vests; we are trying to emphasize to people the desperate situation.”—Council member Dennis Slater to BBC Scotland about how residents in Hopeman are now holding up hairdryers at speeding vehicles to make them think it ‘s a police speed camera in an effort to get them to slow down

5.

“A Next viewer asked for our help to spread the word about a bit of hospitality she thinks our state is missing out on. Jeep drivers, she’d like a word with you.”—Colorado 9 News report, featuring a viewer named Dawn, who’s hoping to bring back the Jeep wave to her state. “When you wave to somebody, you automatically smile. We just need a bit more smiles in the world,” she said. “We can start with the Jeeps.”

6.

Jeep Mopar Concept Vehicles

It seems that each year the Moab Easter Jeep Safari means a new batch of concept Jeeps from Mopar. In the old days, “concept” meant “crazy.” It still kind of does, but more often than not it can also mean a “hint of a future production model.” Here’s a gander at the hints and crazies for 2017.

CJ66

There’s a lot going on with this Jeep: narrow body, TJ frame, CJ Tuxedo Park body, some JK stuff, and a Mopar 345 crate Hemi engine kit’d 5.7L Hemi. Dana 44 crate axles also appear. The 66 section of the name comes from that ’66 body. If you didn’t see this one when it was unveiled at the 2016 SEMA Show, now you have.

Quicksand

This long-wheelbase Wrangler concept is called Quicksand, but it’s not about tips for building for sand as much as about creating a Jeep hot rod. It has a Mopar 392 crate Hemi, gasser-like downturned open headers, eight-stack injection, and, quite interestingly, staggered tires (you’d be hard-pressed to find a Jeep concept with that before), meaning 32-inch rubber in front and 37s in the rear. Other homage-to-vintage can be found in the 18-inch kidney bean wheels. There’s an open top and windows for when it does hit quicksand.

Switchback

This Jeep lets you peek inside the world of Mopar and Jeep Performance parts, like Dana axles, heavy-duty diff covers, steel front and rear bumpers, and even some concept parts: hood and half-doors, 17-inch wheels, windshield lightbar, and hardtop and roof rack.

Trailpass

This is a Compass Trailhawk with more off-road intention. So, there’s a 1 1/2-inch lift and, um, roof basket, rock rails, all-weather floor mats, and, um, stripes. It also has custom leather seats and the 2.4L Tigershark with nine-speed transmission. Hey, it’s a Compass, people. As exciting as things can get.

Grand One

This is a Jeep designed to fete, specifically the 25th anniversary of the Grand Cherokee ZJ (feeling old begins in 3…2…). The 1993 feels meant a 5.2L V-8, four-speed trans, 2-inch lift, selectable locking diffs, 22-inch tires, high-clearance fender flares, a longer wheelbase, a bedliner, and a car phone.

Luminator

If Mopar could put a light where the sun don’t shine, it would, but since it couldn’t, it put them all over this concept Jeep instead. There’s a lightbar module on the hood, underbody rock lights, auxiliary spotlights special tail lamps and grille-mounted turn signals, rear floodlighting, and more, much more.

7.

Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk: It’s Fast

It seems somewhat like yesterday when we were amazed by the Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited being the quickest factory Jeep ever seen. Well, meet the ’18 Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, which makes a whoa-nelly 707 horses. It’s stuffed with a supercharged 6.2L, which Jeep says is capable of 0-60 in 3.5 seconds, 11.6 at 116 mph in the quarter-mile, and a top speed of 180 mph. Twist is 645 lb-ft. The engine is hooked to an upgraded TorqueFlite eight-speed auto trans and is comprised of a cast-iron block with water jackets located between the cylinders. There’s a specially tuned crankshaft damper mated to the forged-steel crankshaft that Jeep said is so robust it can handle firing pressures of nearly 1,600 psi. High-strength pistons, premium aluminum-alloy heads, and a low-temp cooling system are other features.

Beefing up the Jeep also came in the form of a stronger rear driveshaft, new rear axle, tweaked housing and ring-and-pinion tooth geometry, and four-point axle mounting system. Performance also reeks from the Brembo brakes (the fronts are the largest standard ones used on a Jeep) and a lowered suspension (1 inch compared to the non-SRTs). The Grand has standard Launch Control to improve straight-line acceleration, and a new and also standard Torque Reserve for better response time. And when it’s not going fast on the track, towing figures come in at 7,200 pounds.

The Trackhawk will be available in late 2017.

8.

Where Do You Read Jp Magazine?

Don “Sully” Sullivan from Whidbey Island, Washington, sent his photo from the Great Wall of China. “I'm holding Jp Magazine at one of the turrets as I was climbing the wall near Beijing, China. My wife had an Asia tour on her ‘bucket list.’ We toured several major attractions in China, such as the Forbidden City and the Terracotta Warriors of Xi'an.” When he’s not doing the bucket thing, Don’s building his ’15 JK Rubicon Hard Rock.

Now, where do you read Jp Magazine? Well, if you read it in a unique or cool location, we want to see a photo of that—and don’t bother with a toilet photo, please. The photo should show you, the magazine, and the location, all in one. Email the photo and information about you to jpeditor@jpmagazine.com with the subject line “Jp on Location.” Show and tell! Answer these questions for us in your email:

Your name:
Where you’re from:
Where the photo was taken:
What you’re doing/why you’re at that location:
Photo requirements are JPG (maximum quality), BMP, or TIFF file at 1,600 by 1,200 pixels (around 2 megapixels or the original size from your phone/device). It probably goes without saying that your copy of Jp Magazine should be seen with you in the photo.

9.

We Need Your Stuck or Broken or Military Jeep!

We want your Jeep for our Sideways department! Here are ways you can get your Jeep in in Jp Magazine!
Your broken parts or broken Jeep: Did you have an epic snap, blow-up, or breakage? How about an insane trail repair? Photo or it didn’t happen.
Stuck/Flopped/Rollover: Send us your four-wheeling mess.
Vintage and Military Jeep: We like old-timey and military things, like with your father or grandfather, or even modern service.
Jeep Road Trip: A photo from your best road trip that took place in a Jeep. The Jeep needs to be in the photo in a landmark location. Like the Travelocity gnome.

Follow this format:
Your name and your city/state:
Year/make/model of your Jeep/military Jeep:
Where the photo took place:
Describe what we are seeing in the photo/other info we may need to know:
Why the photo means a lot to you/lesson learned/your takeaway:

In addition to the words, here are the photo requirements:
--JPG (maximum quality), BMP, or TIFF file.
--1,600 by 1,200 pixels (around 2 megapixels or the original size from your phone/device).
--No PDFs or other formats. We just can’t use them in the magazine. They won’t reprint.
--Email the materials to jpeditor@jpmagazine.com with the subject line “Sideways”

10.

Where the Jeeps Are

Have an event? Let us know! Remember the magazine needs about four months of advance warning. Just follow these steps:
Name of event:
Date(s) of event:
City/State of event:
Name of venue (if applicable):
Website for readers to learn more about your event:
Why your event is cool in five words or less:
Have a high-resolution photo from a previous event? Feel free to send it to us and we might just include it. Photo requirements are JPG (maximum quality), BMP, or TIFF file at 1,600 by 1,200 pixels (around 2 megapixels or the original size from your phone/device).
Send the info and photo to: jpeditor@jpmagazine.com
Make your subject line, “Where the Jeeps Are”

Various Training Classes, including Starting Rockcrawling and Getting Started Off-Road Driving
July 2017
California
4x4training.com